Just as Lehigh Valley Music told you nearly a month ago, Musikfest announced this morning that it will open its main Sands Steel Stage a day early in August for a pre-festival concert with 1980s new wave British band Duran Duran.

Duran Duran will playat 8:30 p.m. Aug. 6, a day before the annual 10-day festival kicks off in downtown and South Side Bethlehem.

Tickets for the show, at $59-$79,will go on sale at 10 a.m. June 16 to ArtsQuest members and 10 a.m. June 19 to the public at www.musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.

It will be be the first time in Musikfest's 32 years that the main stage would be used for more than 10 days. Musikfest held a "preview" night in 2011 when SteelStacks opened, but performances were on the Levitt Pavilion stage and there were only tours of Steel Stage.

Musikfest typically erects its Steel Stage a number of days before the festival, so an additional concert likely wouldn't require additional labor.

ArtsQuest said there are no plans to make a preview night an annual part Musikfest, but its Senior Vice President of Programming Patrick Brogan said the chance to present Duran Duran this year was simply too good to pass up.

“We have been looking for an opportunity to have Duran Duran return to Musikfest ever since they helped us christen our RiverPlace venue with an amazing show some 15 years ago,” Brogan said.

"We’re thrilled that everything fell into place this year, and we’re excited to present a dynamic night of music headlined by one of the most well-known bands in the world.”

It will be Duran Duran’s first show in the area in 15 years.

Duran Duran, which was among the best-selling acts of the 1980s with five Top 25 albums — all of which went platinum or gold — and 14 Top 25 hit songs, has not announced tour dates in the United States.

The band has a new album, "Paper Gods," due out in September release. The disc would be the group's first since 2010's "All You Need is Now," which hit the Top 30. A single, "Pressure Off," featuring Janelle Monae, is scheduled to precede the disc.

The band played a sellout show at Musikfest's then-main stage, the 6,500-capacity RiverPlace, in the venue's first year in 2000. Steel Stage has a capacity of about 6,600. Duran Duran also played a near-sellout show at Bethlehem's 6,000-capacity Stabler Arena in 1993.

Musikfest, which runs Aug. 7-16, has announced all 10 of its headline concerts, with The Flaming Lips kicking off the festival. Others scheduled main stage acts include Culture Club, O.A.R., Jerry Seinfeld, Reba, ZZ Top, 3 Doors Down with Collective Soul, Darius Rucker and Snoop Dogg, with Alice in Chains on closing night.

Culture Club, a British new wave band, competed with Duran Duran on the charts in its heyday.

Duran Duran is best known for its hits "Hungry Like the Wolf" in 1982, "The Reflex" in 1984 and "A View to a Kill" in 1985, all of which hit No. 1. "The Wild Boys" hit No. 2 in 1984.

The group also had radio hits with "Girls on Film," "Rio" and "Is There Something I Should Know?" and later had two No. 1 dance hits, "I Don't Want Your Love" and "All She Wants Is" in 1988.

In addition to its hit albums, the group had two compilation albums and a live disc, 1984's "Arena," that also went platinum.

The group is perhaps best known for its high profile on then-fledgling MTV, where its racy videos led a second "British Invasion" of the United States. Duran Duran was among the first bands to have their videos shot by professional directors.

In 2003, MTV gave Duran Duran a Video Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the channel has included several of the band's videos among the 100 Greatest Ever.

The band still has four of the five members from its peak lineup: singer Simon LeBon, bassist John Taylor, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor. Only lead guitarist Andy Taylor no longer performs with the band.

In addition to the Duran Duran concert, all outdoor stages and food vendors on the SteelStacks campus will be open for preview night. Free, live music will be on the Americaplatz and TD Community stages.